Integrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit

ABSTRACT

An integrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit  10  for flash cooling beer includes a main body  12  provided with an internal flow path  14  having an inlet  16,  an outlet  18,  and a void  20  in fluid communication therebetween. The void  20  is formed from four cylindrical chambers  22   a - 22   d  that are interlinked so as to be in mutual fluid communication with each other. Chambers  22  are formed in a thermal insulating block  26  held within the main body  12.  Conduits  30   c - 30   d  are disposed within chambers  22   a - 22   d  respectively. Each conduit has an inlet  32  and an outlet  34.  The outlet  34  is connected directly to a dispensing tap  36.  The heat transfer fluid  45  passes through the fluid flow path  14  and thus flows through and about the conduits  30.  Beer enters through inlet  32,  passes through the conduit  30  and is dispensed through tap  36.  The beer is cooled by virtue of a heat exchange with the fluid  45  flowing through the chambers  22.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) ofInternational Application No. PCT/AU00/01035 filed Sep. 1, 2000 andpublished in English as WO 01/17895 A1 on Mar. 15, 2001, which claimedpriority from Australian Application No. PQ 2632 filed Sep. 2, 1999,which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to an integrated heat exchanger andliquid dispensing unit, and in particular, but not exclusively, to aheat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit for the flash cooling anddispensing of beer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The cooling and dispensing of draught beverages such as beerrequires the use of a refrigeration or cooling system to cool thebeverage from room temperature to a preferred serving temperature. Inrelation to beer, a typical system used would involve a cool room forholding a supply of a refrigerant liquid such as brine and channellingthe brine to a heat exchanger or flash unit disposed beneath a servingbar. Beer is channelled from one or more kegs held in a store room tothe flash unit held beneath the bar. Often more than one beer isdispensed and there would be more than one dispensing point along thebar. The flash unit is typically in the form of a block of conductivematerial such as aluminium provided with a coolant coil through whichthe brine flows. Adjacent the cooling coil is one or more beer coils. Anoutlet from each beer coil is attached via a riser line to a font thatis attached to the top of the bar. The font is in the form of a metallicT piece housing a plurality of internal pipes for channelling the beerto one or more taps connected to a cross bar of the font. Thesimultaneous passing of the brine and the beer through the flash unittransfers heat from the beer to the brine via the material of the blockthereby cooling the beer. The flash unit may supply beer to more thanone font.

[0004] This system for cooling beer has several inherent disadvantages.The heat exchanger or flash unit is of relatively large size andoccupies substantial space beneath the bar. Further, the riser linesleading from the flash unit to the font, while insulated, absorb heatand thus increase the temperature of the beer previously passed throughthe flash unit. Also because of the volume of beer held in the riserlines, it is known if there is any substantial delay between the pouringof successive beers, that the third beer would be the coolest or at theoptimum temperature. This sometimes leads to the practice of discardingthe first glass or two of beer poured from each tap each day.Additionally the fonts, made from metal, act as a heat exchangerabsorbing heat from the atmosphere. The amount of heat gained issubstantial and is taken into consideration when designing coolingsystems. The existence of the riser lines and fonts makes mechanical orabrasive cleaning of the beer lines beyond the flash unit virtuallyimpossible. While abrasive cleaners are typically used from the keg tothe flash unit, it is practically impossible to use such cleanersthrough the risers and fonts due to the relatively large number ofdiameter changes, elbows, and joints in the riser lines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention was developed to provide a beer dispensingsystem that substantially eliminates at least one of the abovementionedproblems in the prior art. However, embodiments of the invention can beutillsed for dispensing of different beverages or liquids and, forheating rather than cooling of the liquid to be dispensed.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention there isprovided an integrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit for theflash cooling or heating and dispensing of a liquid, said unit includingat least:

[0007] a main body including a block of thermal insulating material, themain body having an internal fluid flow path having an inlet, an outletand a void disposed in fluid communication between said inlet and saidoutlet said void being formed in said block;

[0008] a conduit, at least a length of which is disposed in said void,said conduit having an inlet to admit a liquid into said conduit and anoutlet at an end of said length to expel the liquid; and,

[0009] a dispensing valve coupled to said outlet of said conduit andsupported on said main body for dispensing said liquid; whereby, in use,a heat transfer fluid is passed through said fluid flow path anddirectly contacts said length of said conduit to effect heat transferbetween said heat transfer fluid and a liquid passing through saidconduit, changing the temperature of said liquid while said liquid isdispensed directly from the main body via the dispensing valve.

[0010] Preferably said main body further includes an outer housing whichhouses the thermal insulating block and wherein the dispensing valve isdemountably attached to said housing.

[0011] Preferably said void is lined with a rigid sleeve.

[0012] Preferably said unit includes an adaptor attached between saidsleeve and said outer housing for coupling the outlet of said conduit tosaid dispensing valve.

[0013] Preferably said void includes a plurality of chambers, saidchambers being in mutual fluid communication with each other so thatsaid heat transfer fluid admitted through the inlet of the fluid flowpath must flow through all of said chambers to exit through the outletof said fluid flow path and said conduit is one of a plurality ofseparate conduits, each conduit having a length disposed in acorresponding chamber.

[0014] Preferably each chamber is lined with a separate rigid sleeve.

[0015] Preferably said length of each conduit is coiled.

[0016] Preferably said main body has a base on which said unit sits whensaid unit is in use.

[0017] Preferably said inlet and outlet of said fluid flow path and saidinlets of conduits extend through said base.

[0018] Preferably said fluid flow path is a single non-branched flowpath whereby all of said heat transfer fluid flowing into said inlet ofsaid fluid flow path flows through said void and flows out said outletof said fluid flow path.

[0019] Preferably said fluid flow path is free of valves or controlmeans for controlling a rate of flow of said heat transfer fluid throughsaid fluid flow path.

[0020] According to a further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a liquid dispensing system including at least:

[0021] an integrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit accordingto the first aspect of the present invention, said main body having abase; and

[0022] a substantially planar support surface on which said base sitsand from which said liquid can be served.

[0023] Preferably said inlet and outlet of said fluid flow path and saidinlet of said conduit extend through said base, and said planar supportsurface is provided with one or more apertures through which said inletand outlet of said fluid flow path and said inlet of said conduit pass.

[0024] According to a further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a liquid dispensing system including at least:

[0025] the integrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unitaccording to the first aspect of the present invention;

[0026] a remotely located temperature control system for providing asupply of said heat transfer fluid;

[0027] a remotely located liquid supply for supplying said liquid; aheat transfer fluid delivery line coupled between said temperaturecontrol system and said inlet for supplying heat transfer fluid fromsaid temperature control system to said integrated dispenser and heatexchanger unit;

[0028] a heat transfer fluid return line providing fluid communicationbetween said outlet and said temperature control system; and

[0029] a liquid delivery line providing fluid communication between saidliquid supply and said conduit; whereby, in use, said heat transferfluid is continuously circulated through said temperature control systemand said fluid flow path.

[0030] Preferably said liquid dispensing system further includes asubstantially planar support surface on which said integrated heatexchanger and liquid dispensing unit is wholly disposed.

[0031] Preferably said planar support surface is provided with one ormore apertures through which said inlet and outlet of said fluid flowpath and said inlet of said conduit pass for coupling to said heattransfer delivery line, said heat transfer return line, and said liquiddelivery line respectively.

[0032] According to a further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of cooling and dispensing draught beer at a bar orcounter of an establishment comprising the steps of:

[0033] providing a heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit accordingto the first aspect of the present invention;

[0034] mounting said unit to be wholly supported on said bar or counter,

[0035] coupling said internal fluid flow path to a circulating flow ofheat transfer fluid;

[0036] coupling said conduit to a supply of beer, and

[0037] operating said dispensing valve to dispense beer from said unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by wayof example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0039]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the internals of anintegrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit in accordance withthe present invention from the front;

[0040]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 1;

[0041]FIG. 3 is a side view of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 1;

[0042]FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of theintegrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit;

[0043]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the integratedheat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit in accordance with thisinvention adjacent a prior art font of a conventional heat exchangingsystem; and

[0044]FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a liquid dispensing systemin accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0045] Referring to FIGS. 14, it can be seen that the integrated heatexchanger and liquid dispensing unit 10 for the flash cooling of liquidsuch as beer includes a main body 12 provided with an internal fluidflow path 14 having an inlet 16, an outlet 18, and a void 20 in fluidcommunication therebetween. In this particular embodiment, the void 20comprises four cylindrical chambers 22A, 22B, 22C and 22D (referred toin general as “chambers 22”) that are interlinked so as to be in mutualfluid communication with each other. This is achieved by the provisionof a channel 24A between respective upper ends of cylindrical chambers22A and 22B, channel 24B between respective lower ends of adjacentcylindrical chambers 22B and 22C, and channel 22D between respectiveupper ends of adjacent cylindrical chambers 22C and 22D.

[0046] The main body 12 is composed of an inner thermal insulating block26 and an outer housing 27. The void 20 and constituent chambers 22 areformed within the block 26. The chambers 22A-22D are lined with rigidsleeves 28A-28D (referred to in general as “sleeves 28”) respectively.Typically the sleeves 28 will be made from stainless steel. The channels24 are constituted by short lengths of stainless steel tubinginterconnecting the adjacent sleeves 28.

[0047] A separate conduit 30A-30D (referred to in general as “conduits30”) is disposed within respective chambers 22A-22D. Each conduit 30 hasa coiled length so as to maximise the physical length of each conduit 30within each chamber 22. Each conduit 30 has an inlet 32 leading to theoutside of the main body 12. An opposite end of each conduit 30 forms anoutlet 34 via which a liquid passing through the conduit 30 can beexpelled from the main body 12. Typically each inlet 32 would be coupledto a different keg of beer.

[0048] Respective dispensing valves in the form of taps 36A-36D(referred to in general as “taps 36”) are coupled to the respectiveoutlets 34 of each conduit 30. As shown in FIG. 5, the taps 36 aresupported on the main body 12.

[0049] Adaptors 38 are coupled between respective sleeves 28 and thehousing 27. The adaptors 38 are provided with screw threads tofacilitate attachment of corresponding taps 36. The outlet 34 of eachconduit 30 is welded to a corresponding adaptor 38. In this way, thetaps 36 are effectively directly coupled to the coils 30.

[0050] The main body 12 (and thus housing 27) is in the general shape ofa rectangular prism and has a base 29; side wall 31 composed of fourpanels 31 a, 31 b, 31 c and 31 d; and top wall 33. The inlet 16, outlet18 and inlets 32 extend through the base 29 (see in particular, FIG. 4)to allow coupling with appropriate lines/hoses.

[0051]FIG. 4 depicts an alternate embodiment of the unit 10′ where thesame features are denoted by the same reference numbers but wheremodified features are indicated by the addition of the prime symbol.Unit 10′ differs from the unit 10 depicted in FIGS. 1-3 solely by virtueof the coupling between chambers 22. In the unit 10 this coupling iseffected by the provision of channels 24 in the form of short links oftube extending transversely between adjacent chambers 22. However in theunit 10′, the connection is by way of J-shaped tubes 24′a, 24′b and 24′c(hereinafter referred to in general as J-tubes 24′). Each J-tube 24 hasan upper end 21 and a lower end 23. The “long end” of each J-tube 24′extends axially through the coiled conduit 30 of its correspondingchamber 22. Mutually adjacent chambers 22 are placed in fluidcommunication with each other by coupling with respective J-tubes 24′with the J-tubes 24′ arranged so that upper end 21 is disposed in anupstream chamber 22 with lower end 23 disposed in an adjacent downstreamchamber 22. Each J-tube 24′ is dimensioned so that the upper end 21 isdisposed near an upper end of the chamber 22 in which it is disposed,and more particularly in the vicinity of the outlet 34 of the conduit 30disposed within that chamber 22.

[0052] In the unit 10′, the inlet 16 is coupled to the chamber 22 a andthe outlet 18 coupled to the chamber 22 d. Therefore in terms of theflow of heat transfer fluid through the fluid flow path 14, chamber 22 ais upstream of chamber 22 b which is upstream of chamber 22 c which inturn in upstream of chamber 22 d. Upper end 21 of J-tube 24 a′ isdisposed in chamber 22 a with lower end 23 of J-tube 24 a′ disposed inthe adjacent downstream chamber 24 b. Similarly, the upper end of J-tube24 b′ is in chamber 22 b with lower end in chamber 22 c; and, upper endof J-tube 24 c′ is disposed in chamber 22 c and the lower end of J-tube24 c′ disposed in chamber 22 d. The outlet 18 is formed at one end of atube 25 which has an opposite upper end 25 u located near the upper endof chamber 22 d and more particularly in the vicinity of the outlet 34of the conduit 30 disposed within chamber 22 d. The above describedinterconnecting of the chambers 22 by the J-tubes 24′ provides analternate method of flooding the chambers 22. It will be appreciatedthat the heat transfer fluid passing in through the inlet 16 can onlypass out of the outlet 18 once all of the chambers 22 are filled to alevel adjacent the upper ends 23 of the J-tubes 24′ and the upper end 25u of tube 25.

[0053]FIG. 4 also shows two bolts 39 that screw into the base 29 ofhousing 27 to bolt the unit 10′ to a bar or serving counter.

[0054]FIGS. 5 and 6 depict the heat exchanger unit 10, incorporated intoa liquid dispensing system 41. The liquid dispensing system 41 includesa planar support surface such as a bar or serving counter 40 on whichthe unit 10 is supported. More particularly, the unit 10 rests or sitson its base 29 on the bar 40. The bar 40 is provided with one or moreapertures through which the inlet 16, outlet 18, and inlets 32 a-32 dpass for connection with corresponding lines/hoses. Bolt holes are alsoformed in the bar 40 to register with fixing points in the base 29 sothat the bolts 39 (refer FIG. 4) can fasten the unit 10 to the bar 40.The system 41 includes a temperature control system in the form of coolroom 43 for providing heat transfer fluid, such as liquid 45 at apredetermined temperature. A delivery line 16′ is coupled between thecool room 43 and the inlet 16 via a coupling C. The heat transfer liquid45 is returned to the cool room 43 by a return line 18′ connectedbetween the outlet 18 and the cool room 43 via coupling C. Kegs 47 a-47d are connected via corresponding delivery lines 32 a′-32 d′ andcouplings C to the inlets 32 a-32 d.

[0055] The heat transfer liquid 45 flows continuously through the unit10. In this embodiment, the fluid flow path 14 is a single direct paththat contains no branches or diversion paths so that all of the liquid45 that enters through the inlet 16 passes through the void 20 (i.e.through all the chambers 22) prior to exiting from the outlet 18. Theflow path 14 does not include any valve or any control means foradjusting or controlling the flow of the fluid 45 through the unit 10.

[0056] When a tap 36 is open, beer from a keg 47 passes through a line32′, inlet 32, conduit 30 and corresponding outlet 34. The beer ischilled during its passage through the conduit 30 by virtue of thedirect contact between the liquid 45 and the conduit 30 within aparticular chamber 22.

[0057]FIG. 5 depicts and embodiment of the heat exchanger 10 alongside atraditional two tap beer font 42. It can be seen that in general termsthe foot print or area occupied by the heat exchanger 10 having fourtaps 36 is approximately the same as the two tap font 42. However,beneath the font 42 will typically be a prior art heat exchanger thetype described in the background to this invention in the form of analuminium block with coolant coils and beer coils. The heat exchanger ofthe prior art would occupy substantially all of the space immediatelybelow the font 42. Riser lines would connect the beer coils from theheat exchanger to the font 42 shown in FIG. 4 together with other fontsthat may be disposed along the bar 40. Further, it can be seen that aspill tray 46 is laid in the bar 40 beneath the font 42. In contrast,the heat exchanger 10 facilitates the use of an above bar spill tray 48thus avoiding the need to alter the structure of the bar 40. As beer ispoured directly from the chilled conduits 30, wastage associate withstale or old beer in riser lines between the prior art heat exchangersand the font 42 is eliminated. Also, in terms of cleaning, by simplyunscrewing the taps 36, the entire beer line from the keg to the tap 36can be cleaned with a conventional abrasive foam bullet air blastedthrough the beer line including the conduit 30. As previously mentioned,it is practically impossible to clean the portion of the beer line inthe prior art from the beginning of the riser lines at the end of theheat exchanger to the taps of the font 42. Embodiments of the system 10also allow greater control over temperature of the liquid beingdispensed. This is because the variations in temperature that areassociated with the use of riser lines is eliminated. Further, whendesigning beer dispensing systems, it is necessary to take account ofall sources of heat loss. When using a font 42, the heat loss is takento be in the order of 400 watts. Experiments indicate that embodimentsof the heat exchanger 10 would only use approximately 80 watts.Additionally, because embodiments of the heat exchanger 10 do notrequire the use of riser lines, there is a reduction in the number ofpossible leak points along the beer line from the keg to the tap.

[0058] Now that an embodiment of the heat exchanger 10 has beendescribed in detail it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevantarts and numerous modification and variations may be made withoutdeparting from the basic inventive concepts. For example, theillustrated embodiment show a four tap heat exchanger 10 with fourseparate chambers 22 and corresponding coils or conduits 30. However,the void 20 can be divided into any number of separate interlinkedchambers 22. Further, more than one coil can be placed in a singlechamber 22. Also, the method of coupling adjacent chambers 22 can changefrom the serpentine like interconnection shown in FIG. 1. For example,adjacent chambers 22 can be coupled at their lower ends and the outlet18 can be coupled with an upper end of the last chamber 22D to ensurethat the refrigerant fluid can only pass to the outlet 18 aftercompletely filling all of the chambers 22. Additionally, the main body12 can be made from shapes other than rectangular blocks as depicted.Further, various decals and/or advertising carriers of various shapesand configurations can be attached to the main body 12. Also withreference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 the temperature control room43 can be replaced with any other known type of temperature controlsystem such as a conventional chiller.

[0059] While the embodiment has been described in relation to thedispensing of beer, it can of course be used for dispensing otherliquids such as carbonated or non carbonated soft drinks or liquids orchemicals other than drinks. Further, the heat exchanger 10 can be usedfor heating rather than cooling a liquid. Whether or not the apparatus10 is used for heating or cooling is solely dependent on the nature ofthe fluid passing through the fluid flow path 14. In one embodiment theinner thermal insulating block 26 is made from a polyurethane injectedfoam and the outer housing 27 made from stainless steel. However othermaterials can be used that perform the same function as the block 26 andhousing 27.

[0060] All such modifications and variations together with others thatwould be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art are deemed tobe within the scope of the present invention the nature of which is tobe determined from the above description and the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. An integrated heat exchanger and liquid dispensing unit forthe flash cooling or heating and dispensing of a liquid, said unitincluding at least: a main body including a block of thermal insulatingmaterial, the main body having an internal fluid flow path having aninlet, an outlet and a void disposed in fluid communication between saidinlet and said outlet said void being formed in said block; a conduit,at least a length of which is disposed in said void, said conduit havingan inlet to admit a liquid into said conduit and an outlet at an end ofsaid length to expel the liquid; and, a dispensing valve coupled to saidoutlet of said conduit and supported on said main body for dispensingsaid liquid; whereby, in use, a heat transfer fluid is passed throughsaid fluid flow path and directly contacts said length of said conduitto effect heat transfer between said heat transfer fluid and a liquidpassing through said conduit, changing the temperature of said liquidwhile said liquid is dispensed directly from the main body via thedispensing valve.
 2. The unit according to claim 1 wherein said mainbody further includes an outer housing which houses the thermalinsulating block and wherein the dispensing valve is demountablyattached to said housing.
 3. The unit according to claim 1 wherein saidvoid is lined with a rigid sleeve.
 4. The unit according to claim 2further including an adaptor attached between said sleeve and said outerhousing for coupling the outlet of said conduit to said dispensingvalve.
 5. The unit according to claim 1 wherein said main body has abase on which said unit sits when said unit is in use.
 6. The unitaccording to claim 5 wherein said inlet and outlet of said fluid flowpath and said inlets of conduits extend through said base.
 7. The unitaccording to claim 1 wherein said fluid flow path is a singlenon-branched flow path whereby all of said heat transfer fluid flowinginto said inlet of said fluid flow path flows through said void andflows out said outlet of said fluid flow path.
 8. The unit according toclaim 7 wherein said fluid flow path is free of valves or control meansfor controlling a rate of flow of said heat transfer fluid through saidfluid flow path.
 9. The unit according to claim 1 wherein said voidincludes a plurality of chambers, said chambers being in mutual fluidcommunication with each other so that said heat transfer fluid admittedthrough the inlet of the fluid flow path must flow through all of saidchambers to exit through the outlet of said fluid flow path and saidconduit is one of a plurality of separate conduits, each conduit havinga length disposed in a corresponding chamber.
 10. The unit according toclaim 9 wherein each chamber is lined with a separate rigid sleeve. 11.A liquid dispensing system including at least: an integrated heatexchanger and liquid dispensing unit according to claim 1, said mainbody having a base; and a substantially planar support surface on whichsaid base sits and form which said liquid can be served.
 12. The systemaccording to claim 11 wherein said inlet and outlet of said fluid flowpath and said inlet of said conduit extend through said base, and saidplanar support surface is provided with one or more apertures throughwhich said inlet and outlet of said fluid flow path and said inlet ofsaid conduit pass.
 13. The system according to claim 12 wherein fluidflow path is a single non-branched flow path whereby all of said heattransfer fluid flowing into said inlet of said fluid flow path flowsthrough said void and flows out said outlet of said fluid flow path. 14.The system according to claim 13 wherein said fluid flow path is free ofvalves or control means for controlling a rate of flow of said heattransfer fluid through said fluid flow path.
 15. A liquid dispensingsystem including at least: the integrated heat exchanger and liquiddispensing unit according to claim 1; a remotely located temperaturecontrol system for providing a supply of said heat transfer fluid; aremotely located liquid supply for supplying said liquid; a heattransfer fluid delivery line coupled between said temperature controlsystem and said inlet for supplying heat transfer fluid from saidtemperature control system to said integrated dispenser and heatexchanger unit; a heat transfer fluid return line providing fluidcommunication between said outlet and said temperature control system;and a liquid delivery line providing fluid communication between saidliquid supply and said conduit; whereby, in use, said heat transferfluid is continuously circulated through said temperature control systemand said fluid flow path.
 16. The system according to claim 15 whereinsaid liquid dispensing system further includes a substantially planarsupport surface on which said integrated heat exchanger and liquiddispensing unit is wholly disposed.
 17. The system according to claim 16wherein said main body includes a base and said base sits on said planarsupport surface.
 18. The system according to claim 17 wherein saidplanar support surface is provided with one or more apertures throughwhich said inlet and outlet of said fluid flow path and said inlet ofsaid conduit pass for coupling to said heat transfer delivery line, saidheat transfer return line, and said liquid delivery line respectively.19. A method of cooling and dispensing draught beer at a bar or counterof an establishment comprising the steps of: providing a heat exchangerand liquid dispensing unit according to claim 1; mounting said unit tobe wholly supported on said bar or counter; coupling said internal fluidflow path to a circulating flow of heat transfer fluid; coupling saidconduit to a supply of beer; and operating said dispensing valve todispense beer from said unit.